/diy/ - Do It Yourself

For a while now I've been interested in making an arcade machine and i just recently looked into it.

Overall I have an idea of what I want to do/how to do it, but there are some things I'm fuzzy on or just plain lost.

For example, i want to make a mame cabinet (multiple arcade machine emulator for those that don't know) and i've decided to use an old tv and pc to save some money. What I don't know is what I should do about the controls.

I want to get a pair of lightguns as well as a joystick/button setup and I found the light guns but at 95 dollars each they're a bit pricey although I'm not sure if much can be done about that
the buttons though I have no idea how to connect.
Should I drop money on an xarcade pad? I'd like to make my own so I can customize it and everything, but I don't think the buttons are just going to come with a way to connect it to a PC

Anyone with experience on this?